AR/223/5.56 reloading for precision. Where do I start?

[tonyben]

Since I have a good upper now, what powders should I use for 52 grain, 69 grain and 77 grain match bullets? 20” shilen 1:8” twist.

I have plenty of the following:
Varget
H/I 4895
4064
RL15
H335

I have one pound of CFE223.

I have plenty of brass and primers.

I shot this the other day with 52 grain Black Hills Match...

Tony.

 

[darkangel_r2]

H335 will likely do really well with 52 grain bullets. That's what I load for plinking ammo. Very temp sensitive though.

Reloader 15 and 69 grain bullets is an extremely accurate combo but reloader 15 is pretty temp sensitive. Works well with 77s too.

IMR? 4064 might be too slow for good velocity with 69s and lighter. Probably makes excellent 77s though. Velocity starts to increase with temp around that 70-80 degree mark so beware of that.

H4895/varget is extremely accurate and temp stable powder that will work excellently with the 69 and 77 pills.

I do not like cfe223. Way too temp sensitive. Best powder for 223 raw velocity wise though.

 

[rckendall]

I use H335 for the lighter 52-62 gr bullets and Varget for the heavier ones, 69 and 77 gr.

 

[Walt Krafft]

24.3 Varget and stick a bullet on it.

 

[jelenko]

My understanding is RL15 will work well with the 69 and 77 grain ones.

 

[tonyben]

Thanks! I'd like to do some service rifle and need to develop loads for 200, 300 and 600.

I'm thinking lighter pills for the 200/300 and 69's or 77's for the 600.

I've got a nice Geissele MK7 quad rail, a F-marked FSB and a bunch of lead in the buttstock. Rifle weighs in around 13.5 pounds or so right now.

Haven't decided if I'm going to use my carry handle/iron sights or my ACOG TA31RCO-A4

Tony.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

Try 24.0 gr of Varget with a 77 SMK or Berger OTM. You'll be glad.

 

[chkunz]

I would shoot the 77s all the way 200/300/600 one load, simple.

 

[6bra1k]

for precision with a 52 match bullet get a new bbl with a short throat, 1/14 twist.
i am down to .2
actually 50 gr zmax( v max with a green tip) shot .204 5 shot with sorted win brass.
if you are shooting mil 200/300/600 then yes a 1/8 wylde chamber
it is designed for single fed longer than mag length 600 yd loads and still shoot 200/300 well.
this is not precision shooting this is large target shooting.
an entirely different game than precision

 

[rckendall]

It has been a long time since I shot any service rifle matches XTC, but I believe it would be best, as chkunz suggested, to shoot the same loads, or at least loads with the same powder for all yardages. You only get two sighter shots at each firing point and that may not be enough to settle things out after changing powders.

Richard

 

[jrh84]

If your rifle won't shoot with 24-24.5 gr of Varget or R15 under a 69 or 77 Sierra, it won't shoot anything. Seat them mag length, and go shoot. If you're new to service rifle, load a bunch 77's and shoot until you get a master classification. Then maybe load up some long 80's for the 600 yard line. Until then, 77's won't hold you back.

The 52 gr bullets generally shoot very well too. I couldn't get any load of N135 to shoot over an inch with Hornady 50 and 53 gr bullets when I was going prairie dog hunting.

 

[JB10]

I shoot 75gr bthp hornadys with cfe223. I have shot with another guy who uses sierra 77gr with cfe223 also with good results.

 

[urbanrifleman]

If your rifle won't shoot with 24-24.5 gr of Varget or R15 under a 69 or 77 Sierra, it won't shoot anything. Seat them mag length, and go shoot. If you're new to service rifle, load a bunch 77's and shoot until you get a master classification. Then maybe load up some long 80's for the 600 yard line. Until then, 77's won't hold you back.

The 52 gr bullets generally shoot very well too. I couldn't get any load of N135 to shoot over an inch with Hornady 50 and 53 gr bullets when I was going prairie dog hunting.

Good advice.

 

[tonyben]

I'll start with the Varget and the 69gr Sierras I have.

Tony.

 

[jrh84]

I'll start with the Varget and the 69gr Sierras I have.

Tony.

Don't let anyone tell you the 69's give up any performance to the 77's at 300 yards and in. If there is a difference, you'd have to be an incredible shooter to realize it on the target. The 69 Sierra is the gold standard for an accurate .224 bullet in my opinion.

600 yards is a different story. The 69's will make it, but they start to get tossed around quite a bit.

 

[K22]

My 8" twist bolt rifles (Tikka's) shoot extremely well with H4895 and the 60 Vmax bullet, sub 1/2 moa. However, I've only tested out to 200 yards.

The 55's shoot ok but not as good as the 60 Vmax's.

Years ago, I used H335 and it shot extremely well with 50 and 55 grain bullet in bolt rifle but these were 12" twist rifles.

 

[Twdmar]

If this is a service rifle, there are certain loads that pretty much always work. There is a large body of information to show that you can't really beat the standard service loads. Like someone said, if those loads don't work, there is something wrong with the barrel.
I liked 24 r15 with 77s. My 600 load is 24.5 r15 with an 80smk but I worked up to it. It's a hot load, perhaps too hot for yours.
If you go to the national match forum it's all there. Forget about load testing. Pick a load and go shoot. Highpower targets don't require much precision.
If you're young with good eyes, the iron sights will work just fine but have a learning curve. I would recommend a 1-4x scope with turrets over the acog. Have fun.

 

[jlorenzo]

Right around 24gr of RL15 worked with 77s for me. Maybe start a touch lower and work up. Be prepared to the temp instability at 600, I have had to adjust elevation multiple times during a match. Not a huge deal if you're aware of it.

 

[Twdmar]

Right around 24gr of RL15 worked with 77s for me. Maybe start a touch lower and work up. Be prepared to the temp instability at 600, I have had to adjust elevation multiple times during a match. Not a huge deal if you're aware of it.

I have found elevation changes for different times of days and ambient Temps and also at different ranges. Mirage is a good reason for elevation issues too.
I keep my ammunition in the shade under my shooting stool and don't let the ammunition cook in the chamber between shots. I think that helps.
Controlling head position is big with the ar, both with scope and iron sights.

 

[mac86951]

Only thing I'll add,
Don't be afraid to try different manf. Bullets. I've seen good 600y scores by Hornady 75gr; Nosler 77gr, Sierra 77gr; Berger 77gr, JLK 77gr; Berger 73; etc... but never from one rifle. Seems to me that matching bullet to barrel solved a lot of variation at 600 for me, easily seen in 200y group testing.

-Mac